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Swans in Denmark (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter pablopg
- Start date
Tundra (Bewick's) Swan. I think the yellow on the bill is confined to above the nostril, ie projecting less than on Whooper wiith a square abrupt end, visible on left hand bird.
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Whoopers for me - the bill looks too elongated for Bewick's. They look like 1st-winter birds, with less distinct bill patterning. Also Whooper much more frequent than Bewick's in Denmark.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Whooper for me on first sight but agree with Andy about bill markings so must be Bewick's?
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Is everyone happy that both birds are the same species? The right hand bird looks noticeably smaller than the left hand one.
Difficult to know for sure. My first impression was distance was to blame, second look less sure.
Niels
size difference is LH Bird 7.5 cm and RH Bird 6.8 cm on my monitor. However RH Bird has a shorter neck by 0.5 cm, possibly due to it sagging where the LH Bird's neck is straight. I can't see the bill on the RH Bird enough to discern a pattern. As I don't know how far away they were, I don't know if the size difference is within normal variation. Further, the bill of the larger bird led me towards Tundra (Bewick's) Swan, so the smaller probably isn't a Whooper Swan. Does anyone know if males or females are larger per se?
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Yep, males larger on average, though with some overlap
Thanks Nutcracker, this helps explain the size difference then.
StuartReeves
Local rarity
I'm not convinced. As Nutcracker says, Bewick's is a rare bird in Denmark - I lived in Copenhagen for five years and it remains a gap on my Danish list. Given its status, I'm not convinced these photos would be good enough to prove Bewick's swan, even if that's what they were. That said, checking the records, one or two Bewick's were seen around Copenhagen this February so it would be useful to know precise date and location to see if Bewick's would have been a possibility at the time.
SteveClifton
Well-known member
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Still Whoopers for me too; more so in fact with Steve's useful comparison pics showing well how much shorter-necked Bewick's is :t:
Could I ask the panel their opinion on this small group of Swans seen heading north along the Black sea coast of Bulgaria last month please?
Of no consequence either way as I saw plenty of both over the winter but just to try and improve my ID skills!
Thanks and apologies to the OP!
Chris
Of no consequence either way as I saw plenty of both over the winter but just to try and improve my ID skills!
Thanks and apologies to the OP!
Chris
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Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
So ignoring the apparent bill markings in favour of a subjective feature?
As I said though, my instant reaction was Whooper.
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Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
With the low pic quality, plus seeing the bills from below, I don't think the pattern can be made out reliably. Better to go for the larger structural features, which made your instant reaction too :t:
Nutcracker
Stop Brexit!
Yours look shorter-necked; I'd be inclined to go for Bewick's for these.
